If you, as a non-asthmatic were to suffer the symptoms of asthma, the tightness in the chest and the shortness of breath would you realise what was happening? How do you think you would react?
It may sound fairly unlikely but in actuality the symptoms may emerge for everyone in certain weather conditions. The phenomenon is known as thunderstorm asthma and it occurs when the massive updrafts caused by vast thunderstorms whip pollen and fungal spores into the air. These allergens are pulled into the air in such vast quantities that they’ll even affect people who don’t have pre-existing lung conditions such as asthma.
It can be scary to suddenly have shortness of breath and not know why. Due to the extreme winds which often come along with the larger storms it’s unusual for thunderstorm asthma to stick around for too long but it’s important to be aware of it. This awareness is even more important for the actual asthmatics themselves who’re going to have to take extra special care every time they see those thunder clouds brewing!
Other than taking extra special care there’s little that can be done about thunderstorm asthma. In the USA the concern has become so great that they’re thinking of putting in early warning systems. This would mean that in the cases of extreme weather, as well as the public being warned about the incoming storm they’d be advised to take special care if they were asthmatic or suffered from a pre-existing respiratory condition.